We are delighted to introduce you to Simon Godwin, the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s next Artistic Director. He will officially succeed Artistic Director Michael Kahn at the completion of the 2018-2019 Season.

Simon is currently the Associate Director at the Royal National Theatre and has previously served as Associate Director of London’s Royal Court Theatre and Associate Director at the Bristol Old Vic in the United Kingdom.

Simon made his debut at the National Theatre with Strange Interlude followed by Man and Superman. When Rufus Norris became the new Artistic Director of the National Theatre in 2015, he invited Simon to become part of his team of permanent Associates. Since then Simon has directed The Beaux’ Stratagem, Twelfth Night and is preparing to open Antony & Cleopatra with Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo later this month.

Simon has also enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 2014 he directed The Two Gentlemen of Verona followed in 2016 by an acclaimed Hamlet, which toured to the Kennedy Center. Simon will return to the RSC this fall to direct Kathryn Hunter in the titular role in Timon of Athens. In 2019 he will make his Tokyo debut, directing a Japanese cast in Hamlet for Theatre Cocoon.

His recent work in America fueled a desire to relocate across the pond and lead STC. His productions of The Cherry Orchard, staged at New York’s Roundabout Theatre Company in 2016, Measure for Measure at the Theatre for a New Audience in 2017, and Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company, which later toured to the Kennedy Center, were celebrated for their fresh, timely and contemporary relevance.

Simon’s dedication to directing inventive classical theatre in both the United Kingdom and the United States has not only attracted impeccably talented and diverse actors and fellow artists as collaborators, it has also earned him a reputation for making bold directorial choices that illuminate classic texts and resonate with audiences.